SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) announced that data from preclinical studies evaluating LG-7501 were featured in a poster presentation today at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in Boston. Ligand is developing novel small molecule inhibitors of NS5B polymerase for the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) using its HepDirect™ liver-targeting technology platform. LG-7501 is a HepDirect prodrug designed for increased liver targeting, potentially improving clinical efficacy and safety.